Descent
Click here to return to the directory of supernatural species and phenomena. Over the millennia, the Guardians in mortal form have parented children with normal human beings; these children would eventually come to manifest their own abilities: mortal beings gifted with supernatural powers through heredity. These children became known as "Descendants" and their abilities named "Descendant" abilities, acknowledging the Guardians as their ancestors. While the majority of Descendants known today are human, any species may become a Descendant, should one of their ancestors be a Guardian. Click here for more information on manifestation. '' The Descendant Bloodlines When a Guardian parents a child, that child is considered to be the first in a bloodline of Descendants, and their parent Guardian the progenitor of that bloodline. If part of an "active" bloodline, it has always been the case that at least one member of any given generation will manifest their abilities; it has never been otherwise. However, as the generations pass, the weaker or lesser a Descendant's abilities become, with few exceptions. The point at which a new generation in a Descendant bloodline lacks in any abilities whatsoever is generally seen as being between around 15 generations from the progenitor Guardian, though this may vary to as low as around 5 or up to a record 21 generations. There has never been a succinct reason for this occurring, though some say it is due to that bloodline mixing with those of other "active" bloodlines increasing the number, and vice versa when with "inactive" or human bloodlines. Once a Descendant bloodline produces an entire generation in which no children possess Descendant abilities nor manifest any such abilities, that bloodline is considered "inactive", and all subsequent offspring are considered completely normal and without Descent status. Descendant Potential All members of an active Descendant bloodline are considered Descendants even if their powers do not ever manifest. However, all Descendants are considered to be "potential" until their abilities finally manifest, at which point they are considered "active". An active Descendant normally manifests around one or two abilities; what ability do develop are often said to be affected by said person's personality and their experiences that act as the cornerstones to that personality. * 'Note that if an entire generation of an active bloodline produces no offspring with any manifested abilities, the bloodline is considered inactive unless a subsequent generation can prove otherwise.' Descendant Abilities ''For a list of all known Descendant abilities, follow here. When a Descendant manifests, it is often incorrect to say that one could assume their abilities (unless assumed through detection). Rather, many gain their own individual abilities based on personality, lineage or even a combination of both (though it is normally the foremost). A fewer percentage of Descendants may also gain their abilities based on circumstance, though this applies to less than 10% of the Academy. Given the varying nature and situation of any of the above reasons, no two Descendants will share identical abilities. For example, two Descendants may both be considered telepathic; yet one may only be able to "hear" the current thoughts of those around them, while the other may be able to focus on the thoughts of a single person. Similarly, though two Descendant may be considered pyrokinetic, one might be able to only manipulate fire, while the other may be able to both generate and manipulate fire. The Effect of Personality In terms of personality, as no two people truly experience the same emotions and often interpret emotions differently, this also affects the abilities that eventually manifest. For example, a person who often experiences introversion may develop the ability of invisibility, while another introvert may instead develop the ability to create mental shields. What has often been noted by the Academy is that the abilities that do manifest in the end rely strongly on the personality traits of the Descendant in question. While they do develop differently, Descendants who generally display qualities of introspection and learning often manifest psychic abilities; similarly those who display traits of anger and fury manifest pyrokinetic abilities. Many Descendants who strongly display personality traits that would symbolically be applied to an element have also been seen to eventually manifest abilities related to that element. For example, there have been numerous cases of those with non-confrontational and absent-minded personalities developing air-related abilities, and likewise with water-related abilities for those with calm and often knowledgeable traits. Whether this relationship belies a deeper connection the Emotional and Elemental Planes has yet to be investigated; and as many such symbolical applications are often culturally based, this theory of correlation has often been the subject of debate. The Effect of Lineage Though personality has been seen to be the largest factor into what abilities a Descendant actually develops, their lineage has also been seen to have an effect. There have been many cases of Descendant children developing related abilities to their parents, though they are usually dissimilar in some way. For example, the child of a parent with telekinetic abilities may also manifest telekinetic abilities, though their abilities may differ in usage, strength or application. If two Descendant parents have a child, more often than not that child eventually manifests abilities that are seen to be a combination of both parents' abilities. One recorded case was a child born of a psionic shielder and a Descendant with abilities of endurance; the child eventually manifested the ability to create extremely powerful force-fields of psionic energy, capable of both withstanding minor nuclear explosions as well as mitigating any psychic attacks. Offspring of two Descendants (particularly if their ancestors have also been active Descendants) have often developed the most powerful abilities, though these abilities are usually difficult to control and train. The Effect of Circumstance Perhaps the least common factor to affect a manifested ability, sheer necessity of circumstance may rarely change what, and even how, the ability or abilities may manifest(s). One such case includes a young teenager, who as the victim of constant abuse and bullying, constantly attempted to make herself void of all emotion to escape the pain, eventually manifesting the ability to rob a person of their senses entirely. Another case was that of a child who had gotten lost and fallen into an old well; while screaming for help his abilities manifested as a piercing sonic cry. Farmers heard the cry from miles away and rescued the child. As circumstance is often closely intertwined with personality at the time of manifestation, many speculate that such cases are actually examples of where the personality had affected the abilities themselves, while the circumstance acted as the trigger for manifestation to occur. Nevertheless, the Academy still considers circumstance to be a factor into changing/affecting the abilities-to-manifest in a Descendant.